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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTREEHOUSE MONTESSORI SCHOOL - PDP - 17-07 - REPORTS - PLANNING OBJECTIVESProject Name: Treehouse Montessori Page 2 of 2 Project Location: 2013 Valley Forge Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80526 Project Description: Non-profit Montessori Preschool for a maximum of 15 children (ages 3-6 yrs) in a single-family home structure located on Valley Forge Avenue in Fort Collins. Treehouse Montessori plans to use the living room and (proposed adjoining) Bdrm 3 as the classroom environment, while Bdrm 1 and Bdrm 2 will be reserved for an office, additional sleep/quiet time space and/or for future expansion as needed. A permanent gate will be installed between the kitchen and dining area to reserve this area for adults preparing meals and/or snacks and a 1-hour fire rated door between the first floor and the basement. In addition, the bathroom attached to the laundry room will be converted into a handicap accessible bathroom, with a ramp installed on the west side of the house entering the laundry room. Smoke & CO detectors will be wired throughout the house, with a pull -fire alarm located close to exits. With regard to fire safety, the house has a northeast gate that is within 150 feet of Valley Forge Ave, which is an approved fire access roadway, and a fire hydrant is located 80 feet west on Valley Forge Ave. The facility's hours of operation is 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays. We currently have 15 students, with up to 4 of these attending on a part-time basis, waiting to attend the fall 2007 semester. There are currently 4 employees at the preschool, 2 working full-time and the facility may have a maximum of 3 employees at one time within the facility. The school has 2 teacher parking spaces in the garage, with additional overflow parking available at the Fort Collins Bible Church parking lot on the South side of the property. Treehouse Montessori has obtained permission from the Fort Collins Bible Church to use their parking lot as an overflow teacher parking option. Student drop-off and pick-up is available, off-street, using the driveway. In the past, the school has experienced 2-3 families, at one time, during pick-up and drop off times. Finally, the facility plans to utilize recycle bins for the materials not recycled as classroom materials or those destined for our compost bins. Parent volunteers are assigned days to drop recycled waste off at the Larimer County Recycling Center. Additional trash will be scheduled for picked up by a local contracted waste company. This proposal is submitted to request a conversion of the use for an existing single-family residence at 2013 Valley Forge Ave to a child care center (preschool) to be used by Treehouse Montessori School. The property is within the City of Fort Collins and is zoned RL — Low Density Residential District. Project Name: Treehouse Montessori Page 1 of 2 Project Location: 2013 Valley Forge Ave. Fort Collins, CO 80526 Project Description: Non-profit Montessori Preschool for a maximum of 15 children (ages 3-6 yrs) in a single-family home structure located on Valley Forge Avenue in Fort Collins. Statement of Planning Objectives (Project Narrative): This is a proposal to convert the existing single-family residence at 2013 Valley Forge Ave to a non-profit Montessori school for children (3-6 years of age) from all ethnic, economic and linguistic backgrounds. The school will be located on the West side of Fort Collins and is currently zoned RL — Low Density Residential District. Treehouse Montessori will replace an existing program, which was operating in this neighborhood, but relocated out of the west -side area and completely abandoned. There are currently only 9 preschools in operation on the West side of Fort Collins (bordered by College, Mulberry, Horsetooth & Overland Trail), compared to 32 preschools operating on the East side of Fort Collins. The closest facility to the proposed site was a Children's World located on 2140 Valley Forge Ave. This Children's World facility has stood abandoned for more than a year (since Spring 2006), with current triple -net lease requirements starting at $7,000.00 per month. There is clearly a need for a West -side preschool and Treehouse Montessori is a multi -aged program for preschool and kindergarten children with an emphasis on learning about the natural world while nurturing independence and a love of learning. The proposed location is a house at 2013 Valley Forge Avenue (floor plan and landscape sketches are provided along with the Larimer county parcel map). The house had been abandoned or left empty since spring 2006, but has since seen renters moving in for summer 2007. It is a ranch style home, built in 1971 and has a total of 1680 sq. ft. (1238 sq. ft. on ground level and 442 sq. ft. finished in the basement). The house has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a living room with a fireplace, a kitchen, a dining room with sliding glass doors to the backyard, and a laundry room on the ground level. The basement has a large room with a fireplace and egress window, 1 bedroom, 1 full bathroom, a storage room and a furnace room. Additionally, the house has a large backyard with a few large trees that afford shade and is entirely enclosed by 6 foot privacy fences. The back yard, or outdoor play area, measures 5362 square feet and is covered with child -friendly groundcover. The south gate opens to an open field and parking lot owned by Fort Collins Bible Church (2550 S. Taft Hill Rd, Fort Collins, CO 80526), the east gate opens to 2009 Valley Forge Ave and the northeast gate opens to the front driveway. The current zoning of the house is RL (low density residential). The proposed changes to the current structure of the house include: • Covering the openings of the fireplaces, as necessitated • Installing an emergency ladder within the egress window well • Disabled -access ramp installed on East -side of house • A child -friendly playground and garden installed in the backyard